Is ironman closer to a 100km race than 100miles race?

IM swim is maybe a little short relatively to bike/run? Ironman is more like 2.5 marathons across muscle groups?

Same person same intensity maybe comparable. But not generally if youre comparing a jogger versus racer. You get into all sorts of debates... Like some people say its harder on the body for an amateur to complete a 12 hour race on less training than it is for a top age grouper to race for 9, or its harder to race a 5km at top level than to complete a half marathon etc etc

Good thoughts on the competitive standpoint. Both races are total different animals if you're trying to smash a good time and not just going for a finish.

Having said that, I think having the perfect day is much more sought after with the IM crowd and easier to gauge where you're at.

A typical IM race day: Exit the swim near goal pace, then hit the power #'s on the bike, and see if the training paid off for the run.

Going for a 100 mile run at the competitive level takes a bit of crazy to ride the lighting I would think.

Thats exactly what I missed about my first ironman compared to training more and going much faster

Its way more fun and adventurous going blindly into the endurance abyss than trying to do everything in training and race to targets that you can calculaye to the minute....surprises are exciting

With multi marathon is it just about keeping a predetermined heartrate steady and jogging economically without surges?

A colleague plays tennis and was claiming tennis was harder than a marathon because its also 2 or 3 hours but you have to stay sharp and never go on cruise control. But he also finds it far to walk to the sandwhich shop on the corner.

I like the variety of ironman training, and theres so many areas to finetune, always dynamic balance

What people never understand in most 100's, is the terrain. They think its like walking the run portion of an IM where you can easily walk 3.3/3.5 mph. So just walking a long way. Just not the case.

I think "hard" is so subjective, it needs to be defined to have these discussions.

I would argue that preparing for and executing a 5k to your maximum potential is just as difficult as preparing for and executing your best possible Ironman. Both take years and years of training, dedication, etc, etc.

Getting to the finish line without a time goal other than making the cutoff, Ironman is much much harder than a 5k.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
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50 mile is way harder than IM period

Godzilla vs Bambi

If we are talking difficult as in what it takes to just finish. A 17 hour ironman vs 30 hour 100 miler. Then saying a 100 miler is more difficult is a big understatement. You can BS your way through an IM.

Go watch the finish line of an IM for those finishing between 14-17 hours and youll see what type of shape some people who finish are in. Do the same thing for a 100 miler and youll realize the difference in physical requirements.

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2x Deca-Ironman World Cup (10 Ironmans in 10 days), 2x Quintuple Ironman World Cup (5 Ironmans in 5 days), Ultraman, Ultra Marathoner, and I once did an Ironman.